New Monday #34
Happy Monday!
Today we have a MONDAY MYSTERY ARTIST! Click on the link below, and just watch the first two minutes - after the flute solo and the spoken work part, and guess who is our MONDAY MYSTERY ARTIST!!!
Listen to the MONDAY MYSTERY ARTIST.
(Don’t be a pooper and skip ahead. Just spend two darn minutes and start off Monday with some goofy fun.)
(This space is intentionally inserted. Don’t cheat!)
Ok! If you guessed The Osmonds, you’re right! And you’re also old! Or very hip!
The Osmonds, as the video suggests, actually put out a concept album in 1973 called The Plan. It’s a concept album about Mormon theology. Uh, move over, Tommy and The Wall...
The Osmond Brothers
These guys were HUGE in the early 70s. My sister and I thought they were the Jackson Five in whiteface. We really did. We were that stupid.
Let's not get into the whole Osmond history here, but a little background is needed.
The Osmonds were born to a Mormon family in Utah, and whatever you might think of their music, they were a fantastically talented bunch of guys. All of them could sing, all could play multiple instruments, they could write, they produced their own records, they had hits, they made a concept album. The Plan was ambitious but stylistically all over the place, and was poorly received critically and commercially. In hindsight, it was the beginning of their end.
Signed to MGM records as kids, they started out on TV singing and dancing, became a boy band, then decided to rock out, which they did, earning a number of hits. And then they went pop again. By 1976 the bulk of their career was over, and the music they made is basically forgotten.
Brother Donny and only sister Marie became a TV phenomenon in the 70s, had a few hit records, including the ever-cloying Puppy Love.
Here’s a cover of puppy love featuring an older woman and her chihuahua.
Back to the brothers... The Osmonds were smart as well as talented. They toured the world, had their own record label, two recording studios, made tons of money, etc. Today, they’re retired and a musical footnote. Donny still performs.
And to think they started out because as little kids they wanted to buy their brothers, Tom and Virl, hearing aids - the two oldest Osmond brothers were born deaf.
Crazy Horses
One last parting Osmond shot: they released a heavy metal song. Not kidding—it’s listed as no. 66 in Stairway to Hell: the 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe.
Crazy Horses rocks. It’s about cars polluting the planet. AMAZING drums by Jay Osmond, who is also singing lead, the rest of the brothers playing live with the drums on a backing tape.
Uh. Jay also came up with the choreography...
See Crazy Horses here. So good!
Great bridge. These guys could really write.
Tinnitus
Tinnitus is the bane of my existence, and I’ve heard from many of you about your own trials with it.
There’s an organization called Tinnitus Quest. They recently had an online Q&A with one of the top experts on the affliction, Dr Dirk de Ridder.
Dr. de Ridder covered EVERYTHING, from causes to treatments, including medicines, therapy, and devices like the Lenire, and Susan Shore’s.
What seems to be very promising is treatments involving psychedelics and drugs like ketamine.
If you’re suffering, the Q&A is really worth a listen. Here’s a playback of it. It was supposed to be an hour; Dr de Ridder answered questions for almost two hours. This is complete and easily digested info. Much recommended.
Always feel free to write me if you’re suffering from the big T.
Make a Mic
There’s a guy out there called The Microphone Assassin. Here’s his podcast.
I found a video he made: it’s a how-to recipe for making a condenser mic from about $60 worth of parts and like 5 solder connections. It sounds amazingly good and if you’ve wanted to do a bit of DIY, this seems like a piece of cake. He lists where you can get all the parts.
I’m going to make one towards the end of the month.
And here we are at the end. I hope you all have a great week and manage to get into the studio a bit.
Warm regards,
Luke
